The Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment: an overview of the results

Balian, Estelle; Segers, Hendrik; Martens, Koenraad; Lévêque, Christian

doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-8259-7_61

Cited by 59 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…globally (Balian, Segers, Leveque, & Martens, 2008;Carrete-Vega & Wiens, 2012). Concurrently, freshwaters are exposed to multiple persistent and emerging threats Reid et al, 2019).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The global decline of freshwater megafauna

Zarfl

Bremerich

et al. 2019

Global Change Biology

188

130

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Freshwater ecosystems are among the most diverse and dynamic ecosystems on Earth. At the same time, they are among the most threatened ecosystems but remain underrepresented in biodiversity research and conservation efforts. The rate of decline of vertebrate populations is much higher in freshwaters than in terrestrial or marine realms. Freshwater megafauna (i.e., freshwater animals that can reach a body mass ≥30 kg) are intrinsically prone to extinction due to their large body size, complex habitat requirements and slow life‐history strategies such as long life span and late maturity. However, population trends and distribution changes of freshwater megafauna, at continental or global scales, remain unclear. In the present study, we compiled population data of 126 freshwater megafauna species globally from the Living Planet Database and available literature, and distribution data of 44 species inhabiting Europe and the United States from literature and databases of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and NatureServe. We quantified changes in population abundance and distribution range of freshwater megafauna species. Globally, freshwater megafauna populations declined by 88% from 1970 to 2012, with the highest declines in the Indomalaya and Palearctic realms (−99% and −97%, respectively). Among taxonomic groups, mega‐fishes exhibited the greatest global decline (−94%). In addition, freshwater megafauna experienced major range contractions. For example, distribution ranges of 42% of all freshwater megafauna species in Europe contracted by more than 40% of historical areas. We highlight the various sources of uncertainty in tracking changes in populations and distributions of freshwater megafauna, such as the lack of monitoring data and taxonomic and spatial biases. The detected trends emphasize the critical plight of freshwater megafauna globally and highlight the broader need for concerted, targeted and timely conservation of freshwater biodiversity.

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“…globally (Balian, Segers, Leveque, & Martens, 2008;Carrete-Vega & Wiens, 2012). Concurrently, freshwaters are exposed to multiple persistent and emerging threats Reid et al, 2019).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The global decline of freshwater megafauna

Zarfl

Bremerich

et al. 2019

Global Change Biology

188

130

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In this study three orders of aquatic insects were selected -Odonata, Coleoptera and Trichoptera (OCT) -which have long been used as environmental state indicators, especially in the context of water pollution and habitat disturbance (e.g. Sahlén & Ekestubbe, 2001;Houghtona, 2004;Balian et al, 2008;Suriano et al, 2011;Chang et al, 2014;Kalaninova et al, 2014;Álvarez-Troncoso et al, 2015). These three orders respond differently to the factors and disturbances being investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival under anthropogenic impact: the response of dragonflies (Odonata), beetles (Coleoptera) and caddisflies (Trichoptera) to environmental disturbances in a two-way industrial canal system (central Poland)

Buczyńska

Buczyński

2018

Preprint

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Ecological metrics and assemblages of three orders of aquatic insects (Odonata, Coleoptera and Trichoptera – OCT) in an industrial canal system affected by dredging were studied. Five sites (a river as a control site and canals) along the Vistula River in Central Poland were sampled during six sampling periods (2011 and 2013). CCA was used to assess the influence of environmental variables on the distribution of 54 insect species in the following system of habitats – a river feeding the canals, river-fed inlet canals and outlet canals with cooling waters. Additionally, BACI was used to test for the impact of canal dredging in 2011 on the insect response metrics. NMDS analysis differentiated insect assemblages of the three habitats and SIMPER indicated the species most responsible for the faunistic dissimilarities. Temperature was found to be a key factor governing the presence of insects in the outlet canals with cooling water. CCAs revealed that electrolytic conductivity and salinity had the greatest influence on the OCT fauna in the river and the inlet canals, whilst it was the dissolved oxygen and the level of development of aquatic plants that proved most important in the outlet canals. Modified ANOVAs showed that dredging significantly affected the mean species richness and the dominance in the canals. The changes in OCT species composition were highly informative. The comparison between tolerance patterns of the OCT orders against the five parameters (temperature, electrolytic conductivity, total dissolved solids, pH and current) revealed that caddisflies are the most sensitive group, followed by Coleoptera while Odonata proved the most resistant. Dragonflies have the greatest potential to serve as bioindicators of industrially heated waters. The OCT fauna responded specifically to different environmental factors and stressors, it is strongly recommended to track the responses on different levels, not only metrics, but above all, species.

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“…Freshwater ecosystems are unique biodiversity hotspots, harbouring 9.5% of all described animal species and covering less than 1% of Earth 0 s surface (Balian, Lévêque, Segers, & Martens, 2008). These species-rich ecosystems are heavily impacted by multiple stressors, such as climate change, pollution, fragmentation, and invasive species (Strayer & Dudgeon, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Though fish are ecologically and economically important, about 60% of animal species in freshwater ecosystems are benthic stream macroinvertebrates (Balian et al, 2008). Understanding the distribution patterns of these highly diverse organisms is an important goal in freshwater biogeography and conservation (Dijkstra, Monaghan, & Pauls, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using streamflow observations to estimate the impact of hydrological regimes and anthropogenic water use on European stream macroinvertebrate occurrences

et al. 2017

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Understanding the drivers of stream macroinvertebrate distribution patterns—the most diverse animal group in freshwater ecosystems—is a major goal in freshwater biogeography. Climate and topography have been shown to explain species' distributions at continental scales, but the contribution of natural and anthropogenically altered streamflow is often omitted in large‐scale analyses due to the lack of appropriate data. We test how macroinvertebrate occurrences can be linked to streamflow observations and evaluate the relative importance of streamflow regimes and water use for macroinvertebrate occurrences from 19 orders across Europe. We first paired species sampling locations with hydrological gauging stations considering 5 combinations of the geographic distance and difference in flow accumulation (upstream contributing area). We then used Generalized Linear Models to assess the influence of the streamflow regime, simulated water use, and climate and topography on the occurrence of macroinvertebrates. The pairing method that assigned species records to the closest gauging station in terms of both distance and flow accumulation performed best. Most of the species studied occurred preferentially in river habitats with low mean annual streamflow and streamflow variability, high winter streamflow, and low levels of water withdrawals for irrigation or manufacturing. We conclude that flow accumulation is a useful proxy to evaluate the proximity of species records to gauging stations, omitting species records that do not belong to a given stream reach. The strong contribution of streamflow and water use indicators on macroinvertebrate occurrences underline their importance for yielding robust occurrence estimates.

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The Freshwater Animal Diversity Assessment: an overview of the results

Cited by 59 publications

References 9 publications

The global decline of freshwater megafauna

The global decline of freshwater megafauna

Survival under anthropogenic impact: the response of dragonflies (Odonata), beetles (Coleoptera) and caddisflies (Trichoptera) to environmental disturbances in a two-way industrial canal system (central Poland)

Using streamflow observations to estimate the impact of hydrological regimes and anthropogenic water use on European stream macroinvertebrate occurrences

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